Sydney, Australia—A joint venture created by developer Leighton Properties and LaSalle Investment Management had its development application approved recently by the city of Sydney. The venture is planning on building a residential community on a parcel of land that is part of the city’s 42-acre Ashmore Industrial Estate Precinct at Erskineville. The proposal in place for the 4-acre site at the northwestern corner of the industrial site would implement a high degree of design and public domain amenity, thereby benefitting the entire area. It is also the first project in the Ashmore Precinct to be approved under the new development framework put in place by local authorities.

The development’s specifics call for 302 apartments to be built on the site, the units featuring floor plans including studio, one-, two- and three-bedrooms. The four apartment buildings holding the apartments will range in height from three to eight floors. The development will also include 16 Torrens Title terrace houses in the northern end of the lot, thus bridging the area between the new development and existing terraces. The structures will be ecologically built and will be integrated in public space featuring walkways and small parks, including a larger, central community park.

Tentatively called Erko, the project will be built in a number of phases, the first of which includes three of the buildings, or a total of 263 apartment units. A large park is also part of this first stage of development, while a café is also set to be built as part of it.

The approved development plan will also include new roads, public open space, cycle paths and footpaths to enhance the community’s accessibility, according to a press statement released by Leighton Properties. Works on the transportation grid will include a new road connecting Macdonald Street to Bridge Street, in order to allow transit between Erskineville village and Erskineville Railway Station.

Sydney’s Erskineville area is one of the most coveted in the city due to its close proximity to arterial roads and the local airport. A recently developed lack of housing stock in the area is set to drive a wave of residential development, the best example of which is Erko itself. The only new residential developments in the Ashmore Industrial Estate Precinct are the 2008-built Motto, offering up 200 units, and the 90-unit Gio, developed back in 2005.